Method for alleviating arthritis with postbiotic extract

ABSTRACT

A method for alleviating arthritis includes administering to a subject in need thereof a postbiotic extract. The postbiotic extract is prepared by a process including the steps of providing a first material having a first isoelectric point ranging from pH 1 to pH 6 and a second material having a second isoelectric point ranging from pH 4 to pH 8, admixing the first material and a probiotic microorganism with water having a pH greater than the second isoelectric point, so as to forma mixture, adding the second material into the mixture and then adjusting a pH of the second material-added mixture to between the first and second isoelectric points so that a precipitate is formed, and subjecting the precipitate to a cell wall isolation treatment to obtain the postbiotic extract.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method for alleviating arthritis with a postbiotic extract.

BACKGROUND

Probiotics are resident normal flora of the intestinal tract and believed to play important roles in regulating proper intestinal immunity and digestion by balancing intestinal microflora. These beneficial microorganisms are widely used as live microbial dietary supplement and can help restoring intestinal microfloral balance. Many species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), such as Lactobacillus spp., Lactococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., and Bifidobacterium spp., are generally considered as probiotics. Furthermore, some of Bacillus spp. and some yeasts and Saccharomyces spp. have also been found as suitable candidates.

Probiotics are viable by definition, and their stability and viability are considered to be crucial for their health benefits. Paraprobiotics or postbiotics have emerged to denote that non-viable microbial cells, microbial fractions, or cell lysates might also offer physiological benefits to the host by providing additional bioactivity. Postbiotic efficacy is based on the microbial metabolites, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins, organic acids, cell wall components, or other complex molecules that are generated in the matrix which is fermented. These postbiotics have drawn attention because of their clear chemical structure, safety dose parameters, long shelf life and content of various signaling molecules which may have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-obesogenic, antihypertensive, hypocholesterolemic, anti-proliferative, and antioxidant activities.

Arthritis (both osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA)) is a degenerative disease of articular cartilage. The primary characteristic of arthritis includes the progressive loss of articular cartilage tissues, synovial tissue inflammation, subchondral bone sclerosis, and osteophyte formation at the margin of a joint, which will result in chronic pain, joint stiffness, and eventually impaired mobility.

It has been known that the destruction of articular cartilage occurs as the result of an imbalance between catabolic (destructive) and anabolic (productive) factors. Exemplary catabolic factors include interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), fibronectin fragments, urokinase plasminogen activator, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Exemplary anabolic factors include transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), IL-4, and tissue inhibitors of matrix metallo-proteinases (TIMPs). TGF-β is considered to be a multifunctional cytokine, and plays a regulatory role in cellular growth, differentiation and extracellular matrix protein synthesis. TGF-β stimulates enchondral ossification and eventually bone formation in vivo. TGF-β-induced bone formation is mediated by TGF-β's stimulation on the subperiosteal pluripotential cells, which eventually differentiate into cartilage-forming cells.

Several prevention and treatment strategies, such as physical rehabilitation, pharmacotherapy or joint replacement surgery, have been taken to combat arthritis. However, there is still a need to develop a new strategy that can be utilized in the alleviation of arthritis.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a method for alleviating arthritis that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.

The method includes administering to a subject in need thereof a postbiotic extract, which is prepared by a process including the steps of:

-   -   a) providing a first material having a first isoelectric point         ranging from pH 1 to pH 6, and a second material having a second         isoelectric point ranging from pH 4 to pH 8, wherein the second         isoelectric point is greater than the first isoelectric point,         and the first isoelectric point and the second isoelectric point         have a pH difference ranging from 0.5 and 3;     -   b) admixing the first material and a probiotic microorganism         with water having a pH value greater than the second isoelectric         point, so as to form a mixture;     -   c) adding the second material into the mixture, followed by         adjusting a pH value of the second material-added mixture to         between the first isoelectric point and the second isoelectric         point, so that a precipitate is formed; and     -   d) subjecting the precipitate to a cell wall extraction         treatment to obtain the postbiotic extract.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description and the exemplary embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a digital image showing a result of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis of postbiotic extracts of Example 1, infra.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Taiwan or any other country.

For the purpose of this specification, it will be clearly understood that the word “comprising” means “including but not limited to”, and that the word “comprises” has a corresponding meaning.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the meaning commonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. One skilled in the art will recognize many methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein, which could be used in the practice of the present disclosure. Indeed, the present disclosure is in no way limited to the methods and materials described.

As used herein, the term “alleviating” or “alleviation” refers to at least partially reducing, ameliorating, relieving, controlling, treating or eliminating one or more clinical signs of a disease or disorder; and lowering, delaying, stopping or reversing the progression of severity regarding the condition or symptom being treated and preventing or decreasing the likelihood or probability thereof.

As used herein, the term “arthritis” refers to a chronic inflammatory disease which may cause joint or connective tissue damage, and which includes, but is not limited to, degenerative arthritis (also referred to as osteoarthritis), rheumatoid arthritis, metabolic arthritis (also referred to as gout), and septic arthritis (also referred to as infectious arthritis).

The present disclosure provides a method for alleviating arthritis, including administering to a subject in need thereof a postbiotic extract. Such postbiotic extract is prepared by a process including the steps of:

-   -   a) providing a first material having a first isoelectric point         ranging from pH 1 to pH 6, and a second material having a second         isoelectric point ranging from pH 4 to pH 8, wherein the second         isoelectric point is greater than the first isoelectric point,         and the first isoelectric point and the second isoelectric point         have a pH difference ranging from 0.5 and 3;     -   b) admixing the first material and a probiotic microorganism         with water having a pH value greater than the second isoelectric         point, so as to form a mixture;     -   c) adding the second material into the mixture, followed by         adjusting a pH value of the second material-added mixture to         between the first isoelectric point and the second isoelectric         point, so that a precipitate is formed; and     -   d) subjecting the precipitate to a cell wall extraction         treatment to obtain the postbiotic extract.

According to the present disclosure, the probiotic microorganism may be selected from the group consisting of Bacillus spp., Streptococcus spp., Lactococcus spp., Abiotrophia spp., Aerococcus spp., Carnobacterium spp., Enterococcus spp., Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., Oenococcus spp., Pediococcus spp., Tetragenococcus spp., Vagococcus spp., Weissella spp., Bifidobacterium spp., Saccharomyces spp., Kluyveromyces spp., Staphylococcus spp., Pediococcus spp., Propionibacterium spp., and combinations thereof.

According to the present disclosure, the Lactobacillus spp. may be selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus paracasei, and combinations thereof.

According to the present disclosure, the Bifidobacterium spp. may be selected from the group consisting of Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium animalis, and combinations thereof.

According to the present disclosure, the Bacillus spp. may be selected from the group consisting of Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus clausii, and combinations thereof.

According to the present disclosure, the probiotic microorganism may be alive or dead, concentrated or non-concentrated, or in the form of a liquid, a paste, a semi-solid, or a solid (e.g. a pellet, a granule, or a powder), and may be heat-inactivated, frozen, dried, or freeze-dried (for example, may be in a freeze-dried form or a spray/fluid bed dried form). In an exemplary embodiment, the probiotic microorganism is heat-inactivated and is in a spray-dried powder form.

According to the present disclosure, the heat inactivation of the probiotic microorganism may be conducted at 60° C. to 140° C. for 1 second to 30 minutes.

In an exemplary embodiment, the heat inactivation is conducted at 73±2° C. for 15 seconds.

According to the present disclosure, the first material may be selected from the group consisting of nonfat dry milk, casein, whey proteins, soybean proteins, pea proteins, egg proteins, rice proteins, hydrolyzed proteins, corn proteins, wheat proteins, barley proteins, gelatin, collagen, amino acids (for instance, branched chain amino acids), chitosan, chitin, and combinations thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the first material is a whey protein.

According to the present disclosure, the second material may be selected from the group consisting of sodium alginate, agar, carrageenan, pectin, arabic gum, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, starch (such as modified starch), trehalose, dextrin (such as resistant maltodextrin), syrup, guar gum, konjac powder, vegetable fiber, synthetic fiber, semi-synthetic fiber, and combinations thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the second material is dextrin.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the first isoelectric point and the second isoelectric point have a pH difference of 0.8.

According to the present disclosure, the precipitate may be obtained by methods well known in the art, including but not limited to centrifugation, filtration, and gravity settling. In an exemplary embodiment, the precipitate is obtained by filtration.

As used herein, the terms “isolation treatment” and “extraction treatment” can be used interchangeably, and mean that a cell wall component or a microbial metabolite is to be separated from a cell wall, in which it was originally present, through a treatment.

According to the present disclosure, the procedures and conditions of the cell wall isolation treatment are within the expertise and routine skills of those skilled in the art (for example, see Pei-Jun Tian et al. (2015), Int. J. Mol. Sci., 16(8): 20033-20049).

The present disclosure also provides a postbiotic extract which is prepared by a process as described above.

The present disclosure also provides a food product, which includes a postbiotic extract as described above.

According to the present disclosure, for preparing the food product, the postbiotic extract may be incorporated into an edible material using a standard technique well known to one of ordinary skill in the art. For instance, the aforesaid postbiotic extract may be directly added to the edible material, or may be utilized for preparing an intermediate composition (e.g., a food additive or a premix) suitable to be subsequently added to the edible material.

According to the present disclosure, the food product may be in the form of fermented foods, processed foods, health foods, or dietary supplements.

According to the present disclosure, the food product may further include an additional nutritional component for improving bone and joint health. The suitable nutritional component includes, but is not limited to, hyaluronic acid, sodium hyaluronate, vitamin C, glucosamine, chondroitin, type I collagen, type II collagen, type III collagen, fish skin collagen, fish scale collagen, undenatured type II collagen, porcine collagen, bovine collagen, sialic acid, egg shell membrane, and the like.

According to the present disclosure, the food product may further include an additional food additive selected from the group consisting of starch, dextrin, lactose, maize flour, rice flour, tricalcium phosphate, silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate, calcium carbonate, glucose, sucrose, fructose, sugar alcohol, oligosaccharides, sugar substitutes, fruit juice powder, yeast powder, nonfat dry milk, casein, whey proteins, amino acids, citric acid, citrate, lactic acid, lactate, nucleotides, and their combinations.

In addition, the postbiotic extract according to the present invention may be prepared in the form of a pharmaceutical composition.

According to the present disclosure, the pharmaceutical composition may be formulated into a suitable dosage form for parenteral, oral or topical administration using technology well known to those skilled in the art. The suitable dosage form includes, but is not limited to, sterile powder, tablets, troches, lozenges, pellets, capsules, dispersible powder or granules, solutions, suspensions, emulsions, syrup, elixir, slurry, external preparations (such as jelly), and the like.

The pharmaceutical composition according to the present disclosure may further include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier widely employed in the art of drug-manufacturing. For instance, the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier may include one or more of the following agents: solvents, buffers, emulsifiers, suspending agents, decomposers, disintegrating agents, dispersing agents, binding agents, excipients, stabilizing agents, chelating agents, diluents, gelling agents, preservatives, fillers, wetting agents, lubricants, absorption delaying agents, liposomes, and the like. The choice and amount of the aforesaid agents are within the expertise and routine skills of those skilled in the art.

The dosage and the frequency of administration of the pharmaceutical composition according to the present disclosure may vary depending on the following factors: the severity of the disease to be treated, the route of administration, and the weight, age, physical condition and response of the subject to be treated.

The daily dosage of the pharmaceutical composition according to the present disclosure may be administered in a single dose or in several doses.

The disclosure will be further described by way of the following examples. However, it should be understood that the following examples are solely intended for the purpose of illustration and should not be construed as limiting the disclosure in practice.

EXAMPLES General Experimental Materials:

-   1. The probiotics used in the following experiments are listed in     Table 1.

TABLE 1 Bacteria Strain Source Lactobacillus spp. Lactobacillus plantarum Department of CB102 Food Science and Lactobacillus acidophilus Biotechnology, JCM1132 National Chung Lactobacillus casei Hsing University, JCM1134 Taiwan Bifidobacterium spp. Bifidobacterium bifidum JCM1255 Bifidobacterium lactis JCM10602 Bifidobacterium longum CB108

-   2. Human primary central chondrosarcoma cell line SW1353 was     purchased from the Bioresource Collection and Research Center of the     Food Industry Research and Development Institute (BCRC of FIRDI,     Taiwan). SW1353 cells were grown in a 10-cm Petri dish containing     Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) (Thermo Fisher Scientific)     supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). The SW1353 cells     were cultivated in an incubator with culture conditions set at     37° C. and 5% CO₂. Medium change was performed every two to three     days. Cell passage was performed when the cultured cells reached     80-90% of confluence. -   3. The nutritional components for improving bone and joint health     used in the following experiments are listed in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Nutritional component Trade name Source Sodium hyaluronate Rooster comb extract Chambio Co., Ltd. Vitamin C Vitamin C Glucosamine Glucosamine Chondroitin Chondroitin Type II collagen BC Collagen II Fish skin and ActivColla LMW1000 scale collagen peptide Undenatured Non-denatured type II type II collagen collagen

General Procedures: 1. Determination of Transforming Growth Factor-@(TGF-β) Content

The TGF-β content was determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (Cat. No. 559119, BD Biosciences) in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

Example 1. Preparation of Postbiotic Extract of Present Disclosure

A respective one of Lactobacillus plantarum CB102, Lactobacillus acidophilus JCM1132, Lactobacillus casei JCM1134, Bifidobacterium bifidum JCM1255, Bifidobacterium lactis JCM10602, and Bifidobacterium longum CB108 was inoculated in a Lactobacilli MRS broth (BD DIFCO, Cat. No. DF0881-17-5), and was then cultivated in an incubator (37° C., 5% CO₂) for 16 hours. The respective resultant culture was inactivated by high-temperature short-time (HTST) pasteurization (73±2° C., 15 seconds), followed by centrifugation at 10,000 rpm and 25° C. for 15 minutes. The resultant cell pellet was collected, followed by spray-drying. A portion of the respective dried bacterial cell powder was subjected to a pretreatment as follows.

A suitable amount of whey protein having an isoelectric point of 4.4 (NZMP, Cat. No. WPC80) was dissolved in water, and the resultant 10% whey protein solution (w/v, g/L) was adjusted to pH 7.5 through addition of sodium carbonate, followed by adding a suitable amount of a respective one of the six dried bacterial cell powders obtained above under agitation to reach a final concentration of 5% (w/v, g/L). Thereafter, dextrin having an isoelectric point of 5.2 (ZHUCHENG DONGXIAO, Cat. No. Maltodextrin DE8-10) was slowly added into the resultant mixture to reach a final concentration of 6% (w/v, g/L), followed by adjusting the dextrin-added mixture to a pH of 4.8 using lactic acid, so that a precipitate was formed due to charge neutralization. Filtration was conducted using a filter paper having a pore size of 25 μm, so as to obtain the precipitate. The precipitate was subjected to a spray drying treatment, thereby obtaining a pretreated bacterial cell powder.

The isolation and extraction of the cell wall of each pretreated bacterial cell powder was conducted using a method slightly modified from that described by Pei-Jun Tian et al. (2015), Int. J. Mol. Sci., 16 (8): 20033-20049. Briefly, 50 mg of the respective pretreated bacterial cell powder was mixed with 1 mL of 10% lactic acid, followed by heating in a water bath incubator (80° C.) for 60 minutes. After centrifugation at 10,000 g for 15 minutes, the resultant pellet was collected and was mixed with 1 mL of a solution containing a 0.5 M citrate solution and ethanol (4:10, v/v, pH 4.6), followed by incubation overnight. After centrifugation at 10,000 g for 20 minutes, the pellet thus obtained was washed with 95% ethanol, followed by heating in a dry bath incubator (80° C.) for 40 minutes to remove ethanol. Thus, a postbiotic extract was obtained. The resultant postbiotic extract was used for the following example and is referred to as “the postbiotic extract of the present disclosure” hereinafter.

In addition, for the sake of comparison, another portion of the respective one of the six dried bacterial cell powders, which was not pretreated according to the procedures described above, was subjected to the same isolation and extraction processes. The postbiotic extract thus obtained was used for the following example and is referred to as “the postbiotic extract of the prior art” hereinafter.

Example 2. Analysis of Extraction Yield and Protein Content

In order to determine the extraction yield and the protein content, the postbiotic extract of the present disclosure and the postbiotic extract of the prior art obtained in Example 1 were subjected to the following analyses.

A. Determination of Extraction Yield

The weight of each of the twelve postbiotic extracts was recorded. The extraction yield (%) of the respective postbiotic extract was calculated using the following Equation (I):

A=(B/50)×100  (I)

where A=extraction yield (%)

-   -   B=weight of respective postbiotic extract (mg)

The result is shown in Table 3 below. It can be seen from Table 3 that the extraction yields of the six postbiotic extracts of the present disclosure were significantly higher than those of the six postbiotic extracts of the prior art, indicating that the process of the present disclosure can effectively produce postbiotic extracts from probiotics.

TABLE 3 Extraction yield (%) The postbiotic extract of the The postbiotic present extract of the Strain disclosure prior art Lactobacillus 43.34% 21.40% plantarum CB102 Lactobacillus 44.14% 20.54% acidophilus JCM1132 Lactobacillus casei 43.94% 21.11% JCM1134 Bifidobacterium 30.97% 15.44% bifidum JCM1255 Bifidobacterium 31.24% 15.83% lactis JCM10602 Bifidobacterium 31.82% 16.75% longum CB108

B. Determination of Protein Content

The respective postbiotic extract was dissolved in a phosphate buffer solution (containing 8 g/L NaCl, 0.2 g/L KCl, 1.44 g/L Na₂HPO₄, and 0.24 g/L KH₂PO₄, and having a pH of 6.2), followed by determining the protein content with Pierce™ BCA Protein Assay Kit (Thermo Scientific, Cat. No. 23225) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The result is shown in Table 4 below. It can be seen from Table 4 that the protein contents of the six postbiotic extracts of the present disclosure were significantly higher than those of the six postbiotic extracts of the prior art.

TABLE 4 Protein content The postbiotic extract of the The postbiotic present extract of the Strain disclosure prior art Lactobacillus 0.39% 0.20% plantarum CB102 Lactobacillus 0.41% 0.21% acidophilus JCM1132 Lactobacillus casei 0.40% 0.20% JCM1134 Bifidobacterium 1.40% 0.69% bifidum JCM1255 Bifidobacterium 1.38% 0.67% lactis JCM10602 Bifidobacterium 1.35% 0.70% longum CB108

C. Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) Analysis

1 g of the respective postbiotic extract was dissolved in 20 mL of water, followed by performing SDS-PAGE analysis using an electrophoresis system (Bio-Rad).

Referring to FIG. 1, the band intensities of the six postbiotic extracts of the present disclosure were significantly higher than those of the six postbiotic extracts of the prior art. The results of this example indicate that the process of the present disclosure is effective in producing a postbiotic extract from bacterial cells, and the resultant postbiotic extract contains high levels of cell wall components (such as peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acid, teichoic acid, glycoprotein, and proteoglycan).

Example 3. Evaluation for the Effect of Postbiotic Extract According to this Disclosure on Alleviating Arthritis A. Effect of Postbiotic Extract on TGF-β Content of SW1353 Cells

SW1353 cells were divided into 25 groups, including one control group, twelve comparative groups (i.e., comparative groups L-1 to L-6 and B-1 to B-6), and twelve experimental groups (i.e., experimental groups L-1 to L-6 and B-1 to B-6). Each group of the SW1353 cells was incubated in a respective well of a 96-well culture plate containing 200 μL of DMEM at 1×10⁴ cells/well, followed by cultivation in an incubator (37° C., 5% CO₂) for 24 hours. After medium change with a fresh medium, each of the cell cultures of the twelve comparative groups and twelve experimental groups was treated with the respective test postbiotic extract so that the cell culture of each group had a final concentration of the respective test postbiotic extract as shown in Table 5. The cell culture of the control group received no treatment.

TABLE 5 Final Test postbiotic concentration Group extract (mg/L) Control group — 0 Comparative group L-1 The postbiotic 5 Comparative group L-2 extract of the 12.5 Comparative group L-3 prior art from 25 Comparative group L-4 Lactobacillus 50 Comparative group L-5 plantarum CB102 100 Comparative group L-6 200 Experimental group L-1 The postbiotic 5 Experimental group L-2 extract of the 12.5 Experimental group L-3 present 25 Experimental group L-4 disclosure from 50 Experimental group L-5 Lactobacillus 100 Experimental group L-6 plantarum CB102 200 Comparative group B-1 The postbiotic 5 Comparative group B-2 extract of the 12.5 Comparative group B-3 prior art from 25 Comparative group B-4 Bifidobacterium 50 Comparative group B-5 longum CB108 100 Comparative group B-6 200 Experimental group B-1 The postbiotic 5 Experimental group B-2 present 12.5 Experimental group B-3 disclosure from 25 Experimental group B-4 Bifidobacterium 50 Experimental group B-5 longum CB108 100 Experimental group B-6 200

After cultivation in an incubator (37° C., 5% CO₂) for 24 hours, the respective resultant cell culture was subjected to the determination of TGF-β content according to the method described in section 1 of “General Procedures”.

As shown in Table 6 below, the TGF-β contents determined in the experimental groups L-1 to L-6 were respectively higher than those determined in the comparative groups L-1 to L-6, and the TGF-β contents determined in the experimental groups B-1 to B-6 were also respectively higher than those determined in the comparative groups B-1 to B-6. This result suggests that the postbiotic extract of the present disclosure is effective in inducing TGF-β secretion in SW1353 cells.

TABLE 6 Group TGF-β content (pg/mL) Control group 4.2 Comparative group L-1 10.4 Comparative group L-2 10.6 Comparative group L-3 22.6 Comparative group L-4 30.4 Comparative group L-5 30.5 Comparative group L-6 32.4 Experimental group L-1 13.6 Experimental group L-2 31.9 Experimental group L-3 53.3 Experimental group L-4 67.0 Experimental group L-5 67.9 Experimental group L-6 67.6 Comparative group B-1 10.1 Comparative group B-2 10.2 Comparative group B-3 21.4 Comparative group B-4 30.1 Comparative group B-5 31.8 Comparative group B-6 33.6 Experimental group B-1 14.6 Experimental group B-2 32.7 Experimental group B-3 52.1 Experimental group B-4 66.6 Experimental group B-5 66.8 Experimental group B-6 67.1 B. Effect of the Combination of Postbiotic Extract with Nutritional Component on TGF-β Content of SW1353 Cells

SW1353 cells were divided into 28 groups, including fourteen comparative groups (i.e., comparative groups 1L to 7L and 1H to 7H) and fourteen experimental groups (i.e., experimental groups 1L to 7L and 1B to 7B). Each group of the SW1353 cells was incubated in a respective well of a 96-well culture plate containing 200 μL of DMEM at 1×10⁴ cells/well, followed by cultivation in an incubator (37° C., 5% CO₂) for 24 hours. After medium change with a fresh medium, the culture of each group was treated with a nutritional component only or additionally with the postbiotic extract of the present disclosure so that the cell culture of each group had a corresponding final concentration(s) of the nutritional component only or additionally with the postbiotic extract as shown in Table 7.

TABLE 7 The postbiotic The postbiotic extract of the extract of the present present disclosure from disclosure from Nutritional Lactobacillus Bifidobacterium component plantarum longum Group (mg/L) CB102 (mg/L) CB108 (mg/L) Comparative Sodium 50 — — group 1L hyaluronate Comparative 100 — — group 1H Experimental 50 50 — group 1L Experimental 50 — 50 group 1B Comparative Vitamin C 50 — — group 2L Comparative 100 — — group 2H Experimental 50 50 — group 2L Experimental 50 — 50 group 2B Comparative Glucosamine 50 — — group 3L Comparative 100 — — group 3H Experimental 50 50 — group 3L Experimental 50 — 50 group 3B Comparative Chondroitin 50 — — group 4L Comparative 100 — — group 4H Experimental 50 50 — group 4L Experimental 50 — 50 group 4B Comparative Type II 50 — — group 5L collagen Comparative 100 — — group 5H Experimental 50 50 — group 5L Experimental 50 — 50 group 5B Comparative Fish skin and 50 — — group 6L scale Comparative collagen 100 — — group 6H peptide Experimental 50 50 — group 6L Experimental 50 — 50 group 6B Comparative Undenatured 50 — — group 7L type II Comparative collagen 100 — — group 7H Experimental 50 50 — group 7L Expertmental 50 — 50 group 7B

After cultivation in an incubator (37° C., 5% CO₂) for 24 hours, the respective resultant cell culture was subjected to the determination of TGF-β content according to the method described in section 1 of “General Procedures”.

As shown in Table 8 below, when sodium hyaluronate was used as a nutritional supplement, the TGF-β contents determined in the experimental groups 1L and 1B were higher than those determined in the comparative groups 1L and 1H. Besides, when the other six nutritional supplements were used, similar satisfactory results were observed with respect to the experimental groups 2L to 7L and 2B to 7B, indicating that the combination of a postbiotic extract with nutritional supplements is effective in inducing TGF-β secretion in SW1353 cells.

TABLE 8 Group TGF-β content (pg/mL) Comparative group 1L 97.3 Comparative group 1H 102.2 Experimental group 1L 154.3 Experimental group 1B 150.0 Comparative group 2L 18.2 Comparative group 2H 21.1 Experimental group 2L 74.6 Experimental group 2B 70.3 Comparative group 3L 17.1 Comparative group 3H 20.8 Experimental group 3L 74.2 Experimental group 3B 70.0 Comparative group 4L 38.3 Comparative group 4H 44.2 Experimental group 4L 97.2 Experimental group 4B 93.0 Comparative group 5L 60.2 Comparative group 5H 63.7 Experimental group 5L 117.1 Experimental group 5B 112.9 Comparative group 6L 18.5 Comparative group 6H 21.2 Experimental group 6L 74.7 Experimental group 6B 70.4 Comparative group 7L 21.1 Comparative group 7H 23.9 Experimental group 7L 89.6 Experimental group 7B 84.4

C. Effect of Postbiotic Extract on Proliferation of SW1353 Cells

SW1353 cells were divided into 3 groups, including one control group and two experimental groups (i.e., experimental groups L and B). Each group of the SW1353 cells was incubated in a respective well of a 96-well culture plate containing 200 μL of DMEM at 1×10⁴ cells/well, followed by cultivation in an incubator (37° C., 5% CO₂) for 24 hours. After medium change with a fresh medium, each of the cell cultures of the two experimental groups was treated with the respective test postbiotic extract so that the cell culture of each group had a final concentration of the respective test postbiotic extract as shown in Table 9. The cell culture of the control group received no treatment.

TABLE 9 Final Test postbiotic concentration Group extract (mg/L) Control group — 0 Experimental group L The postbiotic 50 extract of the present disclosure from Lactobacillus plantarum CB102 Experimental group B The postbiotic 50 extract of the present disclosure from Bifidobacterium longum CB108

After cultivation in an incubator (37° C., 5% CO₂) for 24 hours, the respective resultant cell culture was stained with 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), followed by subjecting the stained cells to determination of absorbance at a wavelength of 570 nm by a spectrophotometer. The OD₅₇₀ values obtained were subsequently converted to cell numbers based on a correlation curve previously prepared by plotting different known cell numbers of the SW1353 cells versus their OD₅₇₀ values.

As shown in Table 10 below, the cell numbers determined in the experimental groups L and B were each higher than that determined in the control group, indicating that the postbiotic extract of the present disclosure is capable of improving SW1353 cell proliferation.

TABLE 10 Group Cell number Control group 1.1 × 10⁴ Experimental group L 2.0 × 10⁴ Experimental group B 2.2 × 10⁴ D. Effect of the Combination of Postbiotic Extract with Nutritional Component on Proliferation of SW1353 Cells

SW1353 cells were divided into 28 groups, including fourteen comparative groups (i.e., comparative groups 1L to 7L and 1H to 7H) and fourteen experimental groups (i.e., experimental groups 1L to 7L and 1B to 7B). Each group of the SW1353 cells was incubated in a respective well of a 96-well culture plate containing 200 μL of DMEM at 1×10⁴ cells/well, followed by cultivation in an incubator (37° C., 5% CO₂) for 24 hours. After medium change with a fresh medium, the culture of each group was treated with a nutritional component only or additionally with the postbiotic extract of the present disclosure so that the cell culture of each group had a corresponding final concentration(s) of the nutritional component only or additionally with the postbiotic extract as shown in Table 7 above.

After cultivation in an incubator (37° C., 5% CO₂) for 24 hours, the cell number of each group was determined according to the method described in section C of this example. The fold increase of viable cells was calculated using the following Equation (II):

C=D/E  (II)

where C=fold increase of viable cells

-   -   D=cell number of respective experimental group or comparative         group     -   E=cell number of corresponding comparative group 1L, 2L, 3L, 4L,         5L, 6L, or 7L

As shown in Table 11 below, when sodium hyaluronate was used as a nutritional supplement, the fold increases of viable cells determined in the experimental groups 1L and 1B were higher than those determined in the comparative groups 1L and 1H. Besides, when the other six nutritional supplements were used, similar satisfactory results were observed with respect to the experimental groups 2L to 7L and 2B to 7B, indicating that the combination of a postbiotic extract with nutritional supplements is capable of improving the proliferation of SW1353 cells.

TABLE 11 Fold increase of viable Group cells Comparative group 1L 1.0 Comparative group 1H 1.1 Experimental group 1L 1.2 Experimental group 1B 1.2 Comparative group 2L 1.0 Comparative group 2H 1.0 Experimental group 2L 1.4 Experimental group 2B 1.4 Comparative group 3L 1.0 Comparative group 3H 1.1 Experimental group 3L 1.2 Experimental group 3B 1.2 Comparative group 4L 1.0 Comparative group 4H 1.1 Experimental group 4L 1.2 Experimental group 4B 1.2 Comparative group 5L 1.0 Comparative group 5H 1.1 Experimental group 5L 1.2 Experimental group 5B 1.2 Comparative group 6L 1.0 Comparative group 6H 1.1 Experimental group 6L 1.2 Experimental group 6B 1.2 Comparative group 7L 1.0 Comparative group 7H 1.1 Experimental group 7L 1.2 Experimental group 7B 1.2

Summarizing the above test results, it is clear that the postbiotic extract of the present disclosure is effective in inducing TGF-β secretion in cartilage cells and improving proliferation of cartilage cells, and hence can alleviate arthritis.

All patents and references cited in this specification are incorporated herein in their entirety as reference. Where there is conflict, the descriptions in this case, including the definitions, shall prevail.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for alleviating arthritis, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof a postbiotic extract, wherein the postbiotic extract is prepared by a process including the steps of: a) providing a first material having a first isoelectric point ranging from pH 1 to pH 6, and a second material having a second isoelectric point ranging from pH 4 to pH 8, wherein the second isoelectric point is greater than the first isoelectric point, and the first isoelectric point and the second isoelectric point have a pH difference ranging from 0.5 and 3; b) admixing the first material and a probiotic microorganism with water having a pH value greater than the second isoelectric point, so as to form a mixture; c) adding the second material into the mixture, followed by adjusting a pH value of the second material-added mixture to between the first isoelectric point and the second isoelectric point, so that a precipitate is formed; and d) subjecting the precipitate to a cell wall isolation treatment to obtain the postbiotic extract.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first material is selected from the group consisting of nonfat dry milk, casein, whey proteins, soybean proteins, pea proteins, egg proteins, rice proteins, hydrolyzed proteins, corn proteins, wheat proteins, barley proteins, gelatin, collagen, amino acids, chitosan, chitin, and combinations thereof.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second material is selected from the group consisting of sodium alginate, agar, carrageenan, pectin, arabic gum, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, starch, trehalose, dextrin, syrup, guar gum, konjac powder, vegetable fiber, synthetic fiber, semi-synthetic fiber, and combinations thereof.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the probiotic microorganism is selected from the group consisting of Bacillus spp., Streptococcus spp., Lactococcus spp., Abiotrophia spp., Aerococcus spp., Carnobacterium spp., Enterococcus spp., Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., Oenococcus spp., Pediococcus spp., Tetragenococcus spp., Vagococcus spp., Weissella spp., Bifidobacterium spp., Saccharomyces spp., Kluyveromvces spp., Staphylococcus spp., Pediococcus spp., Propionibacterium spp., and combinations thereof. 